HTH Sock It

To save on cell life of my SWG, I plan to used bleach to get up to shock levels while opening, then turn on the SWG.

I was in Walmart (Canada) today and found small .454 kg (1lb) bags of "HTH Sock It" for $4. I believe it stated Calcium Hypochlorite, 60% available chlorine.

Is there any problem using this product instead of bleach.
The cost factor isn't an issue because its a one shot deal, but the convience factor is very attractive.

should be no problems with cal hypo (it's also unstabilized chlorine) unless your CH and ALK levels are very high. Then it might cloud the pool. It is slow to dissolve and can damage vinyl liners if it sits on them.. predissolve it and brush after adding and you should be fine. If you need calcium in your pool it will possibly help a little bit with that also.

I use this shock from time to time (I use the Super Sock-it version - it's just stronger). It works fine, just be sure to predissolve in a bucket.

Consider this however - the bleach will net you about the same cost, and is much easier to use since you don't need to predissolve.

I rarely use the powder anymore - and usually just go with bleach when I need to shock.

These type of cal-hypo shocks almost always cloud the pool a little, but it goes away pretty quick - and if you're trying to clear the pool for a new season, a little cloudiness probably isn't an issue.

The main benefit to the cal-hypo shocks is you can keep a few bags on hand, and they have a pretty good shelf life versus regular bleach.